RFID devices are used in a variety of different applications, including, for example, monitoring, cataloging, and tracking items. An RFID system typically includes a transponder, or “tag”, for storing and transmitting data, an interrogator, or “reader”, for receiving the data from the tag, and a data communications network for conveying the data received by the interrogator to an information system.
RFID tags generally have a tag antenna and an integrated circuit (IC). Tag antennas can be constructed from a variety of materials, including silver, copper, and aluminum, and can be printed (e.g., silkscreen, gravure, flexography), etched, stamped, or grown. Tags are “active” if they contain an internal power source, and “passive” if they receive power from an external source such as the interrogator. Battery assisted tags (BATs) are a type of passive tag that uses an internal source to power the IC and an external source to power RF transmission.
In a two-terminal IC, one terminal is connected to the tag antenna, and the other terminal is connected to an electrical reference. In a four-terminal IC, one pair of terminals may be connected to a first dipole antenna, and the other pair of terminals may be connected to a second dipole antenna. Typically, the two dipole antennas are planar and orthogonal in space, which provides polarization and directional diversity.
RFID interrogators have an interrogator antenna, and use radio frequency signals to acquire data remotely from tags that are within range. More specifically, the tag communicates with the interrogator by modulating the scattering parameters of the tag antenna. For example, the IC presents an impedance that is the complex conjugate of the antenna impedance; as a result, half of the RF energy will be delivered to the IC, and half scattered or re-radiated into space. However, a dipole antenna in which the two feed points are shorted is effectively a metal wire of resonant length. RF energy of the resonant frequency induces currents in the resonant wire. Since a wire is an excellent conductor, all RF energy is scattered. By modulating its impedance, the IC of the passive tag is able to change the scattering characteristics of the tag. The interrogator detects this change in the magnitude or phase of the backscattered energy and thereby detects signals from the tag.
RFID systems operate over a range of different frequencies including low frequency (LF), typically around 125-135 KHz, high-frequency (HF), typically around 13.56 MHz, ultra-high-frequency (UHF), typically around 433 MHz to 900 MHz, and microwave radio bands, typically around 2.4 to 5.8 GHz. At LH and HF frequencies, the tag antenna is typically coupled to the interrogator antenna by a magnetic component of a reactive near-field, in which both antennas are configured as coils in a resonant circuit. However, typical antennas used in near-field systems are only a small fraction of a wavelength in their linear dimensions and, therefore, are inefficient electromagnetic radiators and receptors. As a result, the useful range of operation may be limited to as little as a few inches from the interrogator antenna. Such a short read distance is a significant disadvantage in many applications.
At UHF and microwave frequencies, the tag antenna is typically coupled to the interrogator antenna by a radiating far-field, which is an electromagnetic (EM) wave that propagates over distances typically of more than a few wavelengths. As a result, the useful range of operation can be twenty feet or more. However, compared to the HF band, the radiation and reception of EM waves at these higher frequency bands are affected much more strongly by obstacles and materials in the immediate environment of the antennas. In particular, attaching tags to metal objects or containers containing metal or water is problematic.
Many UHF RFID tags are provided with resonant dipole antennas. Dipole antennas have good free-space characteristics and a convenient form factor and are easy to design and manufacture. However, dipole antennas suffer considerable performance degradation when placed near a high-loss and/or high-dielectric material, such as water, or near a conductor, such as metal. This is commonly referred to as the “metal/water problem” and occurs because the dielectric material changes the electromagnetic properties of the antenna, which changes the resonant frequency of the antenna. More specifically, when a dipole antenna is placed near a conductor, the operation of the antenna changes from that of a “free space resonator” to a “volume resonator”, which impacts the performance of the antenna in a number of ways. If the antenna is no longer resonant, it becomes less efficient at radiating and receiving RF energy. The bandwidth of the antenna becomes narrower, such that the antenna is only efficient over a much smaller range of frequencies. If the antenna is intended to operate outside of this narrow band, it will suffer degraded performance. Furthermore, as the resonant frequency of the antenna changes, the characteristic impedance of the antenna changes. This further degrades performance by reducing efficient power transfer between the antenna and the IC. Additionally, if the dielectric material is lossy (e.g., water), the dielectric loss further contributes to the degradation of antenna performance. Additionally, if the antenna is very close to metal, the conductive losses of the antenna can become more pronounced, especially when not operating at its resonant frequency. Various solutions to these problems have been proposed, but all suffer from one or more limitations and disadvantages.
Some RFID tags are provided with microstrip antennas. A microstrip antenna is an antenna comprising a thin metallic conductor bonded to one side of a substrate. A ground plane is bonded to the opposite side of the substrate. Microstrip antennas behave primarily as volume resonators, which is fundamentally different from non-microstrip antennas. Generally, a tag incorporating a microstrip antenna also comprises a feed structure and matching circuit. The antenna, feed structure, and matching circuit are designed specifically to operate with the substrate, and the ground plane electrically isolates the antenna from the material to which it is attached.
The IC of the RFID tag requires two input signals: a data signal and a reference signal. The data signal is provided by the antenna, feed structure, and matching circuit. The reference signal can be provided by a physical, short circuit connection to the ground plane. Unfortunately, manufacturing the physical connection to extend through or around the intervening substrate significantly increases the complexity and, therefore, the cost of manufacture. Alternatively, the reference signal can be provided by a quarter wave transmission line transformation from an open circuit to achieve a virtual short circuit for one terminal of the IC, while using a set of three series-connected transmission lines as the matching circuit. Unfortunately, this approach uses space inefficiently, and the bandwidth of the quarter wave transformer tends to be smaller than that of the microstrip antenna, which undesirably limits the useable bandwidth of the tag.
For example, consider a substrate material that is approximately 0.0625 inches thick and has dielectric properties εr=2.41 and tan δ=0.0035. A quarter wave transmission line is approximately 1 mm wide and 60 mm long and behaves as a purely short circuit at 915 MHz. However, at 860 MHz the quarter wave transmission line has a substantial negative reactive component (approximately −j10Ω), and at 960 MHz it has a substantial positive reactive component (approximately j10Ω).